2003 Ford F-150 Engine Problems
- 23
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 23 stored complaint records:
- 0 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- spark plug · 12 records
- spark plugs · 5 records
- plug blew · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 150–400k mi | 5 |
| 1–30k mi | 5 |
| 60–100k mi | 4 |
| 100–150k mi | 3 |
| 30–60k mi | 2 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Engine · Engine And Engine Cooling
Spark plug blown out of the cylinder head. This is the 5th separate cylinder this has happened to in the 3 years i have owned this truck. *kb
ODI 10426260
Engine
I had my 2003 ford f-150 shoot spark plugs out of the headers i don"t know why but this ids the 3rd time it has happened and if it would be possible to start a recall on the headers to change them to a 8 thread instead of 4. *tr
ODI 10334727
Engine
2003 ford f-150 crew cab , 4.6 triton engine. Spark plug blew while on highway. Normal driving with no load in truck. No warning before failure. The truck has just over 100,000 miles. *tr
ODI 10330565
Engine
Normal driving when the spark plug blew out of the motor leaving me and my kids stranded still trying to correct problem this is the second time repair bill approximately $3000. *dt
ODI 10321469
Engine
While i was accelerating and entering onto interstate 80 at a speed of 50mph i heard a loud pop and lost power. The engine continued to run but with a great loss of power. I continued to drive at a moderate speed until i could get to a monroe service center approx. 20 miles. The #7 plug for the second time blew out of the head. The repair cost this time was $294.38 and the engine light is still on. It's been eight…
ODI 10295920
Engine
1. Normal operation 2. Spark plugs are blown out of the engine head; this is the second occurrence; engine failure. Had the occurrence been 200 miles earlier, i would have been in the middle of peak traffic conditions on i405 near bellvue washington state, heavy rain with poor visibility - consequences would have been dire. 3. Ford acknowledges that they know of the problem. The service manager at the local…
ODI 10290175
Engine
The spark plug on my 2003 ford f-150 was ejected from the engine. The truck has 42,000 miles on it. There was a huge bang from the engine, and the gas vapors flooded the cab. Luckily i was able to navigate to the side of the road and my family was not injured. This problem appears to be well-documented online, and i will be following up to see where the nhtsa is on this issue. *tr
ODI 10272471
Engine
On april 20, 2009, spark plug #7 blowout while accelerating from a traffic light. Approx. Speed 25 to 35 mph. Engine lost compression, damaged the ignition coil, but i was able to make it to a firestone repair garage within 10 miles. The spark plug #7 was replaced with the heli coil and the ignition coil damage was also replaced. Total cost of labor and parts was $352.81. *tr
ODI 10292280
Engine
BLOWING OUT SPARK PLUGS. *TR
ODI 10267753
Engine
1. Normal operation, no indication of problem 2. Spark plug blew out of the engine as my wife parked the vehicle in our driveway; 1st of 2 occurrences; repaired with helicoiled plug. Approx $400 repair expense. I'm now told that a bulletin was issued advising not to use this repair method. Having trouble verifying if that is fact or fiction. *tr
ODI 10290177
Engine
My 2003 ford f-150 with 5.4 triton engine spit out the number 3 spark plug. This is the second time this has happened to the same plug. Ford customer relations refused to even discuss the matter with me, saying there was no problem with its product! *tr
ODI 10251088
Engine · Unknown Or Other
In between oil changes, the sender assembly in my ford f150 failed to send a message to the gauge that the engine was overheating. Because of that failure, both head gaskets were blown allowing water to go inside the engine. The sender assembly was not working so it did not send a signal to the oil gauge that the pressure was low. This caused a complete engine failure. Cost to replace the engine was $5,405.12 + 20…
ODI 10202303
Engine
Engine light turns on, intake mnanifold gasket needs to be replaced on a 2003 v6 4.2l engine in a ford f150. *ak
ODI 10186147
Engine
I purchased a used 2003 f-150 with 38,000 miles on it aproximately 6 months ago. I started noticing an oil leak in december but could not locate where it came from. After trying to add stop leak to seal it, i finally brought it to the dealer. With 49,000 miles on it, the front gasket and left head gasket were bad. This seems a little premature for a failure of this type.
ODI 10185396
Engine
Drove my truck home from work yesterday and at 30 mph my engine blew a spark plug. The estimate for repair is $3000+. I researched on line and found out this is a known problem. I contacted ford at their customer service department in dearborn, mi and they refuse to pay for the costs of this known issue. *jb
ODI 10168614
Engine
My spark plug blew out of my 2003 ford f150 5.4 l this week. Ford wants 3800.00 to repair the problem. The head and plugs. I hear alot of this happening. Why has it not been recalled. I cant afford to have my truck fixed. Now what? Who looks out for the little guy now? *nm
ODI 10163142
Engine
While driving to work, my f-150, 5.4 liter engine blew out a spark plug. The repair cost is in excess of $4000. The affected aluminum cylinder needs to be replaced. The manufacture does not cover the routine tightening / inspection of spark plugs during the periodic 30k, 60k services even though they (the dealer) knows that there is a design problem with this particular engine. The design problem stems from a…
ODI 10171615
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford f-150. The contact stated that the vehicle caught fire while parked in his garage. The vehicle had been driven approximately 10 hours earlier. The insurance investigator was unable to determine where the fire originated or locate any defective parts that may have caused the failure. The engine compartment was damaged, however, the most extensive damage was on the driver side of the…
Fire reported
ODI 10202573
Automatic Transmission · Engine
I have many problems with my 2003 ford f150 from engine noises to transmission leaking and slipping. My vehicle has been in twice now and nobody at fords or their engineers seem to know what is wrong. Fords does not know what to do. I would greatly appreciate if someone could look into this matter because no one should have this many problems with a brand new $30,000 vehicle.*ak
ODI 10037154
Electrical System · Engine
I have a 2003 supercharged harley truck,the concern is that all eight spark plugs were dark red in color and vehicle was missing horribly under a load with the a/c on or off.there was no check engine light,and vehicle fuel economy dipped to 11mpg on highway.it almost felt like a torque converter going south.the vehicle gets sunoco ultra 94 only and is babied.the vehicle only has 7k on it.p.s iam also the foreman at…
ODI 10030776
Engine
I have a 2003 f-150 supercrew 5.4l 2x4, from day one, a hollow knocking noise is heard at idle most noticeable when in gear at idle, or low rpm. I have had it into ford several times and nothing has been done. We even started another truck on the lot (same year, engine ect.) and the noise was not found on the other truck. The service manager states he does hear the noise but ford does not know what it is therefore…
ODI 10041435
Engine
Hollow knocking noise in the 5.4 engine most noticeable when cold. Ford and the dealer tell me to put up with it because it is normal. Something about piston clearances or slap. I did not pay $30,000.00 + for a new vehicle to listen to it knock in the mornings when i start it up. Ford is aware of this noise in the 5.4 and i would like someone to look into this because they are not willing to do anything about it. *la
ODI 10045715
Belts And Associated Pulleys · Engine
A noise was heard under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealership which could not determine the problem at that time. The noise was heard again. The vehicle was taken to the dealership which replaced the timing belt tensioner and the oil pump. Please provide details. *ak
ODI 10021915